Stubborn Luddite
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- April 18, 2016
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- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 1999 Explorer
Recently had an issue crop up with my automatic '99 explorer [engine model 'X']. I apologize if the post gets a bit longwinded, but I'd rather try to list off everything to make sure I don't leave anything out.
First appearance of the issue was a couple of weeks ago. The car appeared to be starting normally until I turned the key to the final position to crank it. At this point, there was an audible click and all of the lights on the dashboard display went dark as well as the clock. I fiddled with the key [turning it back all the way and then returning it to the position just before cranking] and, after ten to thirty seconds of this, was able to get the lights to come back on. The clock and sound options for the radio were reset as though power had been disconnected. I attempted to crank it, again, and I got the same click and blackout. I repeated this another half dozen times or so before, out of desperation, I shifted it out of park and into neutral and attempted to crank it. It turned on just fine. I'm unsure if that was because of it being in neutral as opposed to park, though, because, after that, it started from park, every time until last night. The only new issue with running over the past couple of weeks is the inconsistency of the fan for the air conditioning. The AC has been out since I got the car, but the fan still functioned normally. It's been going in and out as to its functionality, starting shortly after this occurrence. Leading up to the first time this issue occurred, the only issue of note that I can think of is that they key is no longer secured in while the vehicle runs. It doesn't fall out, but it can be removed with no resistance. The vehicle still runs fine, so long as it has been started, before this is removed. There is minimal weight on the keychain [a small housekey, a carabiner, and a short length of paracord] so I do not think that the issue with the key is weight-induced. Unsure if that is of relevance, but it is the only thing I can think of that started close to this. It cropped up a week or two before the issues starting.
Fast forwarding to Last night, the starting issue happened, again, but, this time, I was having much more trouble getting the lights to come back on. I had to wait five plus minutes for power to return, and, when it did, it would turn on the clock and cd player without keys being in the car -this very well could have something to do with the door being opened, now that I think of it. When power returned, it would click off as soon as I attempted to crank it [to clarify, it wouldn't even start to try to turn over. There was just a very audible click sounding like a switch throwing]...I attempted jumping it, but to no avail. It was plugged in for at least five minutes with the other car running. I didn't time it, precisely, but I would ballpark it around eight to ten. During this time, there was no sign of life as far as lights on dashboard coming on with key in the ignition. Writing that off as a lost cause, I went back to waiting, and, eventually, I took the battery to be tested [should have been farther up my to do list, I'll admit, but the nearest place was a bit of a walk away]. I was informed that the battery tested as though it were essentially new, which is accurate. It's only a few months old.
This morning, I returned to my vehicle with the battery -I had left it removed, overnight. The vehicle started on the first attempt and ran smoothly. It has since started up fine a number of other times, today. I've asked around and gotten suggestions ranging from loose/bad ground wires on the battery to a short in the column, somewhere to a bad neutral position switch to issues with the key lock cylinder. I was just wondering if someone might have run into this issue or to at least narrow down the list before I attempt to crawl behind my dashboard hunting down gremlins in the wires?
Thanks in advance for any and all assistance!
-Hugh
First appearance of the issue was a couple of weeks ago. The car appeared to be starting normally until I turned the key to the final position to crank it. At this point, there was an audible click and all of the lights on the dashboard display went dark as well as the clock. I fiddled with the key [turning it back all the way and then returning it to the position just before cranking] and, after ten to thirty seconds of this, was able to get the lights to come back on. The clock and sound options for the radio were reset as though power had been disconnected. I attempted to crank it, again, and I got the same click and blackout. I repeated this another half dozen times or so before, out of desperation, I shifted it out of park and into neutral and attempted to crank it. It turned on just fine. I'm unsure if that was because of it being in neutral as opposed to park, though, because, after that, it started from park, every time until last night. The only new issue with running over the past couple of weeks is the inconsistency of the fan for the air conditioning. The AC has been out since I got the car, but the fan still functioned normally. It's been going in and out as to its functionality, starting shortly after this occurrence. Leading up to the first time this issue occurred, the only issue of note that I can think of is that they key is no longer secured in while the vehicle runs. It doesn't fall out, but it can be removed with no resistance. The vehicle still runs fine, so long as it has been started, before this is removed. There is minimal weight on the keychain [a small housekey, a carabiner, and a short length of paracord] so I do not think that the issue with the key is weight-induced. Unsure if that is of relevance, but it is the only thing I can think of that started close to this. It cropped up a week or two before the issues starting.
Fast forwarding to Last night, the starting issue happened, again, but, this time, I was having much more trouble getting the lights to come back on. I had to wait five plus minutes for power to return, and, when it did, it would turn on the clock and cd player without keys being in the car -this very well could have something to do with the door being opened, now that I think of it. When power returned, it would click off as soon as I attempted to crank it [to clarify, it wouldn't even start to try to turn over. There was just a very audible click sounding like a switch throwing]...I attempted jumping it, but to no avail. It was plugged in for at least five minutes with the other car running. I didn't time it, precisely, but I would ballpark it around eight to ten. During this time, there was no sign of life as far as lights on dashboard coming on with key in the ignition. Writing that off as a lost cause, I went back to waiting, and, eventually, I took the battery to be tested [should have been farther up my to do list, I'll admit, but the nearest place was a bit of a walk away]. I was informed that the battery tested as though it were essentially new, which is accurate. It's only a few months old.
This morning, I returned to my vehicle with the battery -I had left it removed, overnight. The vehicle started on the first attempt and ran smoothly. It has since started up fine a number of other times, today. I've asked around and gotten suggestions ranging from loose/bad ground wires on the battery to a short in the column, somewhere to a bad neutral position switch to issues with the key lock cylinder. I was just wondering if someone might have run into this issue or to at least narrow down the list before I attempt to crawl behind my dashboard hunting down gremlins in the wires?
Thanks in advance for any and all assistance!
-Hugh
